Economists reaching a conclusion…

There’s the famous saying (attributed to George Bernard Shaw) that if all the economists were laid end to end, they’d never reach a conclusion. However on the topic of pay for college athletes, a panel of 45 economists known as the “IGM Economic Experts Panel” (cf. http://www.igmchicago.org/igm-economic-experts-panel) have come very close to a consensus; the official statement reads as follows: “If the NCAA let colleges pay athletes with more than scholarships (which currently may cover tuition, books, room and board), then top colleges in men’s basketball and football would pay most athletes substantial sums beyond full scholarships.”